Barcelona’s footballers will be missing goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen (32) until the end of the current season. In a statement, Barcelona confirmed that the German goalkeeper will join Hans Flick and co. out for at least eight months after injuring his knee in the game against Villarreal.
The 32-year-old Ter Stegen was injured just before the break of Sunday’s game. Iňaki Peňa then replaced him in goal and Barcelona won 5:1. An ambulance took Ter Stegen from the stadium to the hospital, where the seriousness of the injury was confirmed.
“Marc ter Stegen has a complete rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee. He will undergo surgery this afternoon, after which a new medical report will be submitted,” read a statement from the Catalan club.
Given how long Ter Stegen will be missed by his teammates, it is expected that the club’s management will try to secure a relevant replacement in the winter transfer window.
According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, names such as Loris Karius, Jordi Masip, Keylor Navas or even Tomáš Vaclík, who has a lot of experience in Spanish football, may appear in Barcelona’s sights. In the past he defended the gate of Seville and Albacete.
Ter Stegen will also miss the German national team, where he only recently became number one after Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer ended up in the national team. “It’s a huge shock for us. We will miss Marc a lot not only on the field, but also off it,” said coach Julian Nagelsmann.
The German media immediately started speculating who would replace Ter Stegen in the national team. The SID agency said that Neuer’s return is the best option. According to the agency, the 38-year-old world champion from 2014 did not want to comment on the situation.
